Proud and Judgemental
by SilverQueen22638
Summary: James was the leader of the Mauraders. Lily was a prefect. How did they ever love.
1. Chapter 1

_Angry People are not always wise_

_-Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice_

Lily Evans had just escaped her sister, Petunia, and was now on the Hogwarts Express to return to Hogwarts after Christmas break. When a familiar figure crossed her path, she inhaled sharply, obviously annoyed.

"No Potter, I will not go out with you." She said, turning on her heal, and running into a compartment to find her friends, Alice, and Marlene. She was immediately attacked by bear hugs. She smiled. When her friends got off her, they started talking.

"I'm guessing by the annoyed look, you were just asked out by Potter." Alice grinned.

"Yes," Lily replied. "When will he realize no means no." Her friends grinned at her, and started a conversation about their breaks. After a while, Lily took out her favorite muggle book, Pride and Prejudice, and read until they arrived at Hogwarts.

James had asked Lily out approximately eighty seven times, and had been rejected by her every single time. He suspected Severus, or as he liked to call him, Snivellous, had turned her against him, as she called him an arrogant toe rag.

"She'll crack eventually, mate." Sirius said reassuringly. The Marauders had planned a special prank, and the four of them were excited about it. It would be one of our kinder pranks.

In the great hall, James couldn't stop staring at Lily. She noticed, and sent him a glare. He looked away, disappointed in himself. The prank was starting now. The candles suddenly spurted fire, and shaped into animals. A fiery stag galloped towards James. A dog ran to Sirius. They both winked at each other.

Lilly was distracted when a doe galloped toward her. She smiled at it. There were animals all around the great hall. She suspected this was the start of term prank from the Marauders. This was much kinder than last years, last time; they had blasted everyone out of their seats. She cheered with the rest of the hall, mostly for Remus, because he was her friend.

When Lily stepped into the common room, something was different about James. He didn't even ask her out. Lily felt relieved, but she didn't realize part of her had been disappointed.

The next day, Lily met Severus Snape near the black lake.

"Hello Sev!" Lily said cheerfully.

"Hi Lily." He replied.

"Just a question; why do you hang out with people like Avery and Mulciber? They're creepy!"

Severus took a moment before replying "What about Potter and his friends?"

"For goodness sake! You are obsessed with Potter." Lily said. She was irritated.

"Haven't you noticed them sneaking out every night?"

"I know your theory." Lily said coldly, attempting to get back to what she wanted to talk about. "But they aren't as bad as your friends. Didn't you hear about what they did to that poor first year a few weeks ago?"

"But Potter is arrogant." Severus argued.

"I know Potter is an arrogant toe-rag," Lily said, sounding as cold as the winter air. Severus got a misty look in his eyes, keeping him from hearing Lily's final words. "But I detest Avery and Mulciber."

With that, Lily left Severus all alone.


	2. Chapter 2

_There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.  
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice_

Lily slumped on the couch after finishing her homework, which had taken nearly two hours. As usual, she brought out Pride and Prejudice. She was now at the point where Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham. A hand on her shoulder and a voice that incredibly annoyed her brought her to her senses.

"Do you ever stop reading?" James Potter grinned.

"Can you go away? I'm on a good part." Lily groaned. They were in the middle of the great hall.

"Go out with me Evans?" James asked with the smallest bit of hope.

"No Potter. Just go away." Lily groaned. James just smirked.

"See you at dinner." Was all he said.

Dinner, started particularly well, considering the fact that Lily had decided to forgive James for his behavior. She even told him herself. But then, of course, things had to go wrong again.

Severus Snape walked past them, glaring at James. James had his wand out in a moment. He shot a hex, and Snape slumped unconscious to the ground. "Seriously, can you ever stop for a moment and realize what you're doing?" Lily practically yelled, venomously. The room got quiet.

"You don't understand." James said quietly.

"And why would that be? He's one of my best friends!" Lily yelled. "_Finite_" She murmured. Snape stood up. "And forget what I said about forgiving you. You've just proved that you don't deserve it."

"One day you'll get it." Snape whispered to James. Lily didn't hear. The two of them exited the great hall, and parted separate ways to their common rooms. James clenched his fists. He loathed Snape. What made it worse was that he had turned Lily against him. Sirius snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Prongs! Did you even hear what I said?" Sirius practically yelled.

"Sorry, Padfoot." James said innocently.

Of course, Lily was reading when she got back to the common room When James entered again, he looked like he wanted to apologize. He walked up to Lily.

"Perhaps, if you've forgotten, I'm a Gryffindor. You are not scaring me." Lily said. James blushed.

"Look, Evans. I came here to apologize." He said.

"Save it, Potter." She replied, snapping her book closed, and rushing up the stairs to her dormitory. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am going up to my dormitory where I'll be able to read my book without being disturbed."


	3. Chapter 3

_The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance."  
__- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice_

Lily was enjoying a peaceful spring evening by the Lake with her best friends. Nothing could ruin it- or so she thought.

Severus Snape was cornered by the tree by the marauders. Since he had no other choice, he raised his wand.

_'EXPELLIARMUS' _James yelled, causing Snape's wand to fly in the air. A now disarmed Snape, was looking around desperately. But it was too late. He was levitated into the air.

"STOP IT!" Lily yelled. James listened. Snape took a look at Lily before picking up his wand.

"I don't need your help, mudblood!" Snape spat.

"Fine then," Lily said, close to tears. "I'll leave you alone from now on." She ran away from the scene, not looking back.

James who had watched the whole thing, looked back angrily at Snape. "You'll pay for what you did to her!" He said venomously. "But now is not the time." Then James ran off to look for Lily.

Lily had run inside, finding a small corridor. She collapsed, and sobbed for what seemed like hours.

"Lily?" a voice said. Surprisingly, part of her felt comforted, but she just got up and ran.

_'I need a place I can be in peace' _Lily was thinking to herself. She stopped when she heard a noise. She turned to see the door to the room of requirement. Without hesitation, she entered the room. It was empty accept for a chair. She sat down.

James was looking for Lily. He felt a strong need to find her. Fast.

"Have either of you two seen Lily?" He asked Alice and Marlene. They shook their heads. He went up and asked Sirius.

"Have you checked the map?" Sirius asked, looking amused.

"Why didn't I think about that?" James groaned. He rushed up to his dormitory and found the marauders map. He looked over it. Lily was nowhere to be seen. He puzzled over this. Lily definitely was not outside the grounds. So why was she not on the map? It showed everywhere on the map... Unless...

James eyes widened in shock. How had she found it? He rushed down to the room of requirement.

_'I need to find Lily.' _James thought. A door appeared, and he stepped inside. What he saw made his heart stop. Lily Evans was crying.

"Lily?" He said gently. She looked up surprised, but made no effort to hide her tears.

"What do you want?" She said.

"Are you alright?" James asked. It was a stupid question. _'Way to go Prongs.'_ He thought bitterly to himself. Lily stopped crying for a moment.

"I've spent four years trying to be strong. Just because I'm a m-mudblood. I can't do this anymore. It's bad enough my sister hates me." Lily broke into a sob again. James didn't know what to do.

"Listen to me Lily. Don't ever call yourself a mudblood. You're worth more than ten purebloods alone." James said.

Lily's startlingly green eyes looked into James' hazel ones, which burned with passion. Her eyes had something else. Shock.

"Y-you called me Lily." She said. Without thinking, she hugged James Potter. The one she'd hated for years. She was crying. After a while, she released him, realizing what she had done.

"Sorry." She said weakly. Then she fled from the room, with James watching her.


	4. Chapter 4

_A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.  
― Jane Austen, __Pride and Prejudice_

Lily had concluded that the incident with James happened because she needed a hug, and James had been the one lucky enough to receive it. She had told her friends what had happened, and her conclusion. They nodded, though secretly, they thought there was something going on.

James entered the Hogwarts Express at the end of term. He hadn't spoken to Lily since that day, and he wanted to say goodbye. He entered her compartment, where of course, she was reading.

"Er... Evans..." He said.

"No." She said without looking up. "I'm not going to go out with you."

"Oh. I was just going to say goodbye." James said. He was a little hurt that she'd assumed what he'd say. But he had been asking her out since the beginning of fourth year, so he didn't say anything about it.

"Bye then." Lily said, without looking up. Alice and Marlene shooed him away, and he found it best to listen.

At the station, Lily found her parents waiting for her, along with her sister. She wondered what had made her come along this time. She had a smug expression on her face.

"Tonight, you are going to meet my boyfriend." She said. Lily silently groaned. She'd been getting letters from her father about him for the past month, and she really didn't think that this guy was a very nice person. And she was right. Petunia had threatened her that if she did anything suspicious, she'd never speak to her again. Lily had just sighed at this, for that was already the case.

When she'd met Vernon Dursley (who she commonly referred to as 'the walrus' behind his back), he eyed her suspiciously. She had been correct in assuming that her sister had told him of her being a witch.

Lily had gone outside, and the walrus followed.

"Petunia told you?" Lily asked as he eyed her. He nodded.

"It's nonsense! All nonsense!" He screeched. Lily inhaled angrily.

"I don't care what prejudice you have. It's bad enough I have people against me on either side of the case. So I suggest that you leave magic out of this." Lily said.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" the walrus asked.

"Is there a problem?" She said, shaking her head. She walked back into the house, slamming the door. She could not wait to get back to Hogwarts.


	5. Chapter 5

_I have not the pleasure of understanding you.  
― Jane Austen, __Pride and Prejudice_

The long summer had finally come to an end, and Lily could not wait to get back to school. She missed the teachers, the homework. Even the thought of the annoying James Potter made her smile.

She was glad to climb back on the train after saying goodbye to her parents. Alice and Marlene tackled her with bear hugs.

"Lily!" Alice yelled. She smiled for the first time in weeks.

"Hi Alice!" she yelled back, over the roar of students.

"Are you forgetting something?" Marlene joked.

"Never would forget you, Marlene!" Lily yelled. The threesome laughed, and found an empty compartment.

James was sitting in the compartment, not really listening to what his friends were saying.

"PRONGS!" Remus yelled. James snapped back into his senses.

"What?" He said. His friends laugh.

"We were trying to see how long it would take to get you back to normal." Sirius said. James laughed.

"What were you thinking about?" Peter asked.

"Mind on a certain redhead?" Remus asked. James blushed.

"Oh Merlin!" Sirius said. "Prongs has got it bad."

"James Potter is blushing. I never thought I'd see the day." Remus added.

"I know. Can you be serious for a moment?" James said.

"I am Sirius." Sirius joked. All the marauders laughed. They joked around for the rest of the train ride.

Lily rushed into her dormitory and collapsed on her bed as soon as she got the chance.

"Home." She moaned. Alice giggled.

"Wow, Lily, you must love this place." Marlene teased.


	6. Chapter 6

_I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun."  
― Jane Austen, __Pride and Prejudice_

Lily walked through the halls trying her best to avoid Severus Snape. Of course she'd never forgive him for his insult and use of words. She was deep in thought, worried about her next transfiguration test when she accidentally walked into someone and dropped her books.

"Oh! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-" She stopped when she looked at who she'd crashed into. "James." She said. He bent down and picked up her fallen book.

"I believe you dropped this." He said.

"Thank you." Lily said awkwardly before rushing into class.

James and Lily had spent almost the entire year without talking about the hug they had shared in the room of requirement. But something happened near the end of the year that had made Lily completely forget about it.

Lily had been in the owlry when a letter had arrived. From her sister.

_Lily,_

_ I am getting married to Vernon Dursley. Because of this, there is a matter I need to tell you about._

_OUR PARENTS ARE DEAD AND IT'S YOUR FAULT! We were only minding our own business when abnormalities like you in black cloaks came in and killed them._

_ I know your school term is almost over. And you will not be welcome in my house. Goodbye._

_ Petunia_

A teardrop rolled down Lily's cheek, while footsteps could be heard from the stairs, although Lily didn't hear them. She dropped the tearstained letter on the floor and it fluttered near the doorway. It was picked up by James Potter, who took one look at Lily and ran to her side.

"What is the matter? Are you all right? Should I call Madam Pomfrey?" James asked. Lily shook her head.

"I'm fine." She said through tears.

"It doesn't look like it." James pointed out.

Lily thought about it. After considering it, she decided to tell him. Everyone would know soon anyways. "Read it, I don't mind." She told him, looking out the window, longing to be with her parents.

James read through the letter, and looked at Lily.

"It's all my fault." She cried. "If I hadn't gotten my letter, none of this would have happened." James frantically thought of something to cheer her up. He walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Lily." He said with passion in his voice. "Listen to me." Lily looked up, startled at the arm around her. "None of this is your fault. It doesn't matter about your blood status. Being a good person matters most. And you are one."

"But, I'm a mudblood. Voldemort know this, and he will never forgive me for it."

"I think being muggleborn is one of the things that will define Lily Evans. It's what makes her beautiful. Especially to me." James said.

Lily turned away, not knowing what to say or think.

"Now, if it's the least I can do," James continued "Would you like to stay at my house? My parents would probably be happy to take you in. They did the same for Sirius."

"I'll think about it." Lily answered. James nodded before scribbling a post script on his letter and sending it to his parents. He left the owlry leaving a tearful Lily behind to think.


End file.
